Of Soul Reapers, Sakura Blossoms, Seasons Past 2
by Yuhi Sakura
Summary: The war is coming...an apocalypse that threatens to tear apart the world itself. But Sakura has other ideas...and they reside in the strength of Leaf and Seireitei allied.
1. Chapter 1

**_Chapter One: Explanations_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Naruto! _**

**_Of Soul Reapers, Sakura Blossoms, Seasons Past, and Sounding of Spells. _**

Sakura inhaled deeply as she stepped through the gate, allowing the sweet scent to roll over her. Beside her waited Unohana, her had retired from her command post for Sakura's sake.

"Thank you." Sakura mouthed.

Unohana smiled, she had never been one for battle and that was inappropriate for a captain. Her squad had followed after her in a show of solitude...they all agreed that they didn't like battle and therefore were ineffective as Reapers.

Sakura's mind quickly reverted to the matter at hand: If their calculations were correct, they had roughly two months before Aizen struck...and this time he wasn't playing.

But after two wars--one waged in their dimension and another fought in Konoha--they were down to half of their original ranks. Furthermore, amateur Reapers were now in positions of command. There simply wasn't time to put them through the tests and exhibitions that would have effectively rooted out those who were unprepared for such a position.

In other words, they were screwed...and not in the fun way either.

Sighing, Sakura continued towards the lab.

* * *

"We are fucked..." Sakura moaned, slamming her head down on the desktop.

"That bad?"

She looked up to see Uryu standing in the doorway.

"We just don't have the manpower or resources to match Aizen." She replied.

"Not even if we ally with the Vizard?" He asked.

"Even _if_..and that a pretty big if...we could pass it with the Counsel, it just wouldn't be enough. As it stands, there is one captain to every three Arrancar, fifteen Gillian, and four Foot Soldier Hollows."

"Those aren't good odds." He agreed.

"It gets worse," Sakura replied, shaking her head, "To fight so many, we would require a spatial freeze and release on scales so epic, that it would effectively tear a rift between the human realm, Hueco Mundo, and Seireitei."

"What about a fixed-variable spatial dispersal?" He asked, sitting down at a computer and typing in a series of codes.

Sakura shook her head, "If we did that, it would power down captains with no warning. We would lose hundreds."

"Not if we adjusted it to work around victories--powering down only those who had successfully defeated their opponents."

"The problem remains that these battles would be long, drawn out, and militaristic. Basically, they would all be powered down when the battle began..."

Uryu nodded...they really were fucked.

And then she said, "But I had another idea..."

Uryu's eyebrows raised in a question.

"Konoha..."

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter Two: Espionage_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Naruto! _**

"What?!" Sakura demanded angrily, her arms thrown out in frustration.

"The Council cannot allow you to bring in others from a separate dimension." The female reaper replied calmly.

"Says the women who frequently changes dimensions!" Sakura protested.

"Captain Haruno! You would do well to restrain yourself!" Shigekuni snapped.

"While my home is destroyed!?"

"Sakura! Calm yourself." Byakuya said, seeking her eyes to let her know he was on her side.

She sighed and sat back down.

"Council is dismissed."

* * *

"They're standing by while the Soul Society crumbles!" Sakura said, raking her hands brusquely through her hair.

"Did you sense it?" Byakuya asked.

"What? The evil in the air, the reek on the wind? Yes, I see it and I smell it."

"We may have to take matters into our own hands." Ichigo said.

"Well met." Uryu agreed.

"First things first, we need to clear out the upper ranks." Yoruichi said, dancing lightly across the handrail with Soi Fong in tow.

* * *

Sakura shifted in the darkness, stealing away into Byakuya's headquarters. If anyone saw them...well, elicit affair was their best excuse...

Beside her, Yoruichi was flash stepping her way towards Uryu's room as Soi Fong sprinted lightly for Ichigo's across the tiled roofs.

They would have to move quickly...particularly for the first phase of their plan...

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter Three: Phase One_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach!_**

Sakura slipped into Byakuya's headquarters, her zanpakuto hanging on her hip as she closed the screen door.

"Are we all in position?" He asked lightly over his personal intercom.

"Yes." Uryu replied, Yoruichi's voice blending into the background.

A moment later, Soi Fong and Ichigo reported in.

"Good." Byakuya said, "Now, we'll have to move quickly. Rangiku and Toshiro are in position. Renji is waiting for his orders and Momo is keeping an eye on the council members. We're only going to get once shot."

Sakura nodded to him, tuning her intercom to be clearer. With his cue, Sakura flitted back into the night.

* * *

Sakura stepped through the gate to the human world and met with Toshiro.

"Ready?" He asked, his hand resting on the hilt of his zanpakuto.

She nodded, unsheathing her own.

"Better make it quick, Momo said they've sensed the gate disturbance and are now checking to see if it was authorized." Rangiku said over the radio.

"You heard her." Toshiro said, sliding his katana from its sheath.

Aligning themselves, they focused their spiritual energy into their katana. A moment later, they slammed their zanpakuto into the ground.

The earth fractured around them, a small rift tearing into Hueco Mundo. It would allow only low level Hollows through it--ones to weak too even take on a small child's soul. They were nuisances...but in no way dangerous. They were only a distraction.

"Get out of there! High Command is on the move!" Rangiku told them over the intercom.

Neither Reaper wasted anytime getting lost.

* * *

Momo met Renji behind the training grounds--as was expected, they had been dispatched to take care of the Hollows and gather evidence as to who or what had opened the rift.

"Do you have it?" He asked.

The female Soul Reaper nodded as she opened her palm, revealing a shred of fabric.

"Good. By the time they figure out this Arrancar is dead, it'll be too late." He smirked.

* * *

Yoruichi moved with Soi Fong as they infiltrated the High Command Headquarters. In those computers were all records of every Soul Reapers movements too and from the human world.

Landing alongside the log, she motioned for her friend to hack the one across the room. With a few quick keystrokes, Sakura's, Toshiro's, and Rangiku's names all disappeared from the screen--the entire record erased.

Soi Fong took a minute to complete her task: Inputting false commands that would suggest--should anyone every realized that those three left--they had been acting on orders given by High Command. By the time an inquiry was completed of all five hundred High Command Members, they would already have control.

She turned and nodded as the records were falsified.

"Good. Move out." Yoruichi replied, her after image fading quickly as she flash stepped through the door.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**_Chapter Four : Phase Two--A voice in the Distance_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach!_**

"Ready?" Sakura asked as she landed lightly in a deserted parking lot.

Yoruichi and Soi Fong both nodded as they moved to complete a seal written in the own blood. It was a circular design detailed to Sakura's instructions. She hadn't had much time to come up with a plan and given the records of the method used to transfer her between worlds was destroyed upon her arrival and promotion, she had needed to devise a new one.

"Stand back everyone, please." She said as she stepped forward and took her place in the middle of the giant seal. Careful not to smudge any of the delicate, wet lines, she drove her zanpakuto into its center. Forming the seal of the tiger with her right hand, she used her left hand to channel her now manifesting reishi into the sword.

The seals began to glow a brilliant crimson, the light bathing the Reapers who had taken to her side.

Sakura's mouth began to move, the words too quietly spoken to be heard, but nonetheless effective.

It was a foreign language--not Japanese, English, Latin...

Suddenly, from the center erupted a massive sphere of light that blinded them, forcing them back as a giant gate opened.

It was a gate of pure crystal that opened to reveal Konoha.

"Naruto! Sasuke!" Sakura cried, feeling the manifesting reishi of less friendly reapers.

A moment later, Yoruichi was pinned against a nearby wall as Uryu was thrown to the ground. Soi Fong was delivered a brutal blow to the head as Toshiro and Rangiku were tackled down.

"No!" Sakura cried, turning only to find her wrists in the grip of two darkly dressed special ops. Jerking her violently, she fell to the ground, wrenching her left hand free too late to block the punch aligned with her face. Her eyes instinctively slammed shut against a blow that never came...

A cry of pain filled her ears as she was released.

"I suggest you take your hands off of her." Sasuke stated calmly as he tightened his grip on the offender's wrist.

"Agreed." Naruto added, his hand blocking the blow intended for her.

"You...you've damned us all, Haruno!" The Squad Commander cried, pointing an accusing finger at her.

"No..." Yoruichi said with a smirk, "She's just saved us all."

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**_Chapter Five : Into Sereitei_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach!_**

Sasuke threw the offending Special Ops Reaper easily. With a snort, he gently hauled Sakura to her feet.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

She nodded as she threw her arms around him and then kissed both Naruto and Sasuke on the cheek. By now, the rest of the Special Ops were beating hasty retreats.

"I'm fine. But we don't have a lot of time. We need help!"

"Point out who needs their ass kicked." Naruto smirked, cracking his knuckles.

"Thank you!" She cried as she threw her arms around both of them, her tears falling freely now.

"Watch out!" Naruto cried...

It was unnecessary--they moved as one organism, leaping away from a binding kido. They appeared several meters back: Sakura balanced perfectly on a telephone pole, Sasuke crouched beside her--his katana gleaming, and Naruto rising from a nearby roof, a kunai spinning in his hands.

But by now...it was far too late.

Sakura flipped her zanpakuto around, the fine point down, as she began to chant. Almost instantly, a white aura began to surround her. It moved around her like reishi, interrupting the flow of her hair and her kimono as if she was submerged in water. And as her power grew, a darker aura began to leech from the Special Ops and the next line of Reapers.

But far from dissipating, the dark energy attacked! Before they realized what was happening, Sasuke and Naruto had been thrown back. Correcting his stance, Sasuke landed cleanly while Naruto flipped up and used his chakra to cling to a nearby wall.

Like storm clouds, it swarmed Sakura, encasing her in a black and gray mass.

They heard Sakura give a cry--a final word. An instant later, beams of light began to cut through the orb and the energy seemed to vanish.

Sakura stumbled slightly, falling to her knees, her zanpakuto falling to the ground.

Slowly, the freed Reapers were coming to their senses. Dazed, they reluctantly accepted the fact she had just saved them.

"We need to move, now..." Yoruichi stated, knowing their work wasn't yet complete.

* * *

The gates flew open, Sakura never breaking her smooth stride. Instantly, the air changed: The 'infected' Reapers' eyes began to glow an almost evil shade of red. But it didn't matter...

Raising her zanpakuto, she began reciting the incantation as her fingers on her free hand formed the seals in midair: The manifesting runes began to glow, the force of her kido growing as she threw her entire being into it. The light was close to blinding, the heat almost unbearable...

And then it was over...

The dazed Reapers moved back to their feet, asking jumbled questions.

"They'll be time for that later...right now we need to mobilize." Sakura stated...

Before falling unconscious at their feet.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter Six: Ally the Forces of Two Worlds**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Naruto! **_

Sakura recovered quickly from the dangerous state of exhaustion she had pushed herself to. Within twenty four hours, she was back on her feet and accomplishing missions at a startling pace; one of them being the maintenance of the gate that connected Konoha to Sereitei.

It had been dually decided by both Lady Tsunade and the Thirteen Court Guard Squadrons that their best chances for success lie with each other. Already, they were exchanging soldiers: Reapers were training in the shinobi world and ninja were filing into the spiritual realm. The idea was that if they were all trained to fight in both worlds, no enemy would pose too great a threat to be deal with.

Sakura, whose idea it originally was, was the one in charge of commanding the ninja forces in their practical studies and Tsunade, impressed by the idea, was in charge of the Reapers' training.

"Sakura-san! You're needed in the Human world!"

The message couldn't have come at a worse time: Sakura could sense several of her charges were extremely close to manifesting their zanpakuto...But it didn't matter if they didn't have anything left to protect.

"I'm coming." She replied, flickering into the trees and towards the opening gate.

* * *

Ichigo released the stale air pent up in his lungs as he turned to face another Hollow.

"This is getting old..." He sighed, scratching his head absently. The shadowy figure looming before him would be his fifteenth kill that night alone...

"Really? Because I think things are just getting interesting. Reflect, Amaterasu."

The Hollow was torn to oblivion, its cry cut short by the lines sinking through it.

"Hey, Sakura. How's it going?" He asked, smirking.

"The usual. Aren't you supposed to be with Kakashi-sensei tonight?"

"The Call to Arms was sounded."

"A Hollow in Konoha, already?" Sakura asked.

"Looks like it."

"How? Where are they getting the energy to move like this?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"Because you're supposed to be there." She retorted, folding her arms over her chest.

"Whatever."

"I'll catch up later. I want to check on things over there."

* * *

Aside from the eerie silence that marital law imposed after eight, Konoha looked more or less normal.

'Well, that was a waste of time...' Sakura thought, moving to a higher perch.

Sighing, she leaned against the trunk of the tree and took a moment to think: It seemed odd that Aizen would attempt to bring about two apocalypses when the first had been a decisive victory for her team. What was the point in releasing all of those Hollows and then not using them? And more confusing still, why had he attacked Konoha in the first place? He was far too intelligent to risk his whole plan on a revenge strike...How did it all fit together?

"Sakura-san?"

The kunoichi turned to greet the approaching figure.

"Rangiku!" She replied happily...until she stepped into the shaft of moonlight penetrating the treetop.

She hadn't seen the Reaper since she had been forced to kill the love of her life: The woman's eyes were lifeless orbs, her hair was a disheveled mass of orange, her frame was bent...

"Ra...Rangiku..."

"Sakura...I hear you've been well." The female lieutenant attempted a smile that was almost as dead as her eyes.

Sakura opened her mouth to reply in kind, but nothing came out.

"I know..." Rangiku sighed, "I'm not the same person, am I?"

Sakura didn't know what to say...

Rangiku fell into the same silence.

Sakura swallowed, staring at her friend before the right words finally moved across her lips: "I promise, I'll fix this."

"I don't think anyone can, Sakura-san."

"I'll find a way."

TBC

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	7. Chapter 7

**_Chapter Seven: What does it all mean? _**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach! _**

Sakura tossed fitfully on her mattress, unable to sleep. Her impromptu meeting with Rangiku had disturbed her more than she cared to admit...even to herself. But the fact remained, if it hadn't been for her intrusion into their world, Gin would have had a chance at salvation.

'Don't start thinking like that now...' Sakura said, mentally scolding herself.

And then her mind slowly wandered to another hole in the scheme that had yet to be filled in: Aizen could have had what he wanted from her-whatever that might be-at any time in either of his assaults. So why did he let her slip by again and again relatively unhindered?

"I can't do this..." She groaned, throwing a pillow across her face.

"There's very little I doubt you couldn't do." Uryu smirked as he slid open the door to her quarters.

"Oh...Uryu..." She smiled as she tossed aside the pillow.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I saw Rangiku earlier." She responded, sitting up.

Uryu nodded: He had run into Rangiku several times over the past months and increasingly was beginning to grow concerned for her.

"Uryu...this is all my fault..." Sakura whispered.

He shook his head, "You didn't choose for any of this to happen."

Sakura looked up at him, her emerald eyes two orbs of fire even the pallid moonlight.

"Regardless, I intend to fix it." She replied.

"Don't fix what isn't broken, Sakura."

"I'm not going anywhere." She smiled, knowing his thoughts intuitively.

* * *

Yoruichi flickered gently in and out of the dense treetops with Soi Fong in tow.

"You know the legends better than anyone!" The goddess' friend demanded.

The Queen of Flash-Step sighed in irritation; of course she knew better than anyone. And it was true; Sakura bore an eerie resemblance to the female of legend.

"There's no telling, Soi Fong." She replied.

However the Oracle's words echoed almost constantly through her mind...

_"She will touch all of you. But whether for good or evil, I cannot see..." _

* * *

Aizen smirked as he watched Sakura's image flash across the screen before him. Absently, he swirled a glass of wine in his hands.

"Ulquiorra, what do you think of her?"

"She is impressive."

"Grimmjaw?" Aizen asked.

The Arrancar didn't reply, a frown growing across his face.

"The time draws near..." He smiled to himself, the grin the manifestation of his insanity.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**_Chapter Eight: Evolution part 1_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach. _**

"Good. More! More!" Sakura cried to her recruits, seeing their reishi begin to manifest in their various zanpakuto. There were _so _close!

The recruits groaned, crying out as they tried to force their tired bodies to comply. But Sakura wasn't letting up a single inch.

"You can do this!" She yelled, bracing a student by her shoulders when she began to weave.

"No...I'm sorry, I can't..." Hinata huffed, falling to her knees as the ethereal glow began to fade.

"Don't listen! Just keep going!" Sakura yelled, as a medic helped the Hyuga to her feet.

But slowly, one by one all but three of them fell to their knees in exhaustion and the reishi aura around them died. But three were still going and that was more than enough to keep Sakura's hope alive.

Sasuke and Naruto, each groaning with the strain of the sustained effort, were among them. She already had a decent idea of what their Shikai forms would be: Fire or Lightning and Air. Very powerful elements, and in the right hands they would be lethal.

But Lee was besting them both; his aura was a strong, pulsing red halo. Despite the effort, he showed no fatigue. He, so far, had the best chance of accomplishing the Manifest Stage-the stage at which their zanpakuto, in locked form, would be fully functional.

And they were running out of time to accomplish that...

* * *

From a far, Uryu watched as his lover directed the three remaining individuals, instructing them in the proper mental techniques they would need. She moved like a rippled of water, dancing across the field in seemingly delicate maneuvers that backed a power greater than he could fathom. And the depths of Uryu's mind were quite cavernous.

From his position, he could most easily distinguish Lee from the other two. His aura halo was a fiery mass of burning red that shone like the sweltering waves the sun emitted. Truly impressive...

Next was Sasuke: His aura was far smaller and much duller but of an interesting electric blue hue. Its movement around him was also quite unique; like pulsing electricity. The edges, jagged as they were, still maintained a fairly constant radius.

Last was Naruto-lagging behind badly, his aura was without a doubt the weakest of the standing recruits. Faintly orange, it was uneven, badly controlled and without a constant of any kind.

Maintaining his post, he watched as Sakura took her place between them, her eyes closed in focus and her zanpakuto gripped tightly before her.

He knew what she was attempting: By releasing her zanpakuto in its locked form without activating her Shikai or Bankai, she could stabilize their reishi networks by providing a grid of her own for them to map. It would be a bit of help without actually handing the figurative answer to them.

He could literally feel her aura begin to expand, controlled and precise as it extended. And instantly he could feel Lee's beginning to respond.

* * *

Lee couldn't explain it: one moment he could barely feel his reishi, and the next he could literally sense it beginning to take shape. Slowly, he felt the energy begin to focus along the narrow but long shaft held in his hands.

It was noteworthy, Sakura had told them, to remember that all unreleased swords in locked form would look the same--like katana. It was only after fusing it with their reishi would it become their own. After that, they could begin the long road to Shikai. This didn't happen in the Soul Society, she continued, but because they were from another dimension, the rules didn't really apply.

In this case, he could feel links begin to form within the blade, divides forming and sections taking shapes beneath his hands. And then their came a sudden vacuum that drained his reishi completely from him and his eyes snapped open instinctively to find Sakura's arms around his neck, yelping with joy as she jumped up and down in her ecstasy.

A moment of hesitation later, he chanced glance at the weapon in his hands.

It was utterly transformed...

The blade had folded in on itself to form a pair of nun chucks that each sported an impressive blade along the sides and the tapered tip. Long and narrow, they were undoubtedly very deadly. Linking them together was a thick chain in a deep fiery red that bordered on burgundy. The links, he realized, would give him a good thirty to fifty feet to work with on each side plus the connective ten-foot long center shackle. With a practice flip, he found it retreated conveniently back into the case formed by the bladed nun chucks that then locked together to form a wine-red staff that extended just over six inches.

"Incredible..." He muttered, barely registering Sakura's ecstatic cries.

But just as quickly, he had taken his place among the exhausted and now fitfully resting recruits as Sakura continued to coach her teammates. In their joy, they had completely lost the focused reishi and had to begin over again. Hardly an easy task when they were already so spent.

But they continued, a triumvirate of pink, blue, and orange pulsing from them.

* * *

"SAKURA! COME QUICKLY!"

Instinctively, Sakura pushed herself up and into the outdoor corridor before her conscious mind could register the action. And long before that action rose up in her mind, she was sprinting lightly along the railing towards the cries.

In a blur of white and black dotted by a shock of pink, she disappeared and rematerialized beside a terrified Rangiku. The poor, broken woman was sprawled out against the grass, her fallen comrades a spatter of gore around her. She shimmering crystal gate at her feet was already closing.

Sakura couldn't afford to comfort the lieutenant--leaping, she barely cleared the radius of the rapidly fading gate before it collapsed in on itself. But the backlash of reishi within the dimensional portal sent her tumbling upon her entry into Konoha. Slamming hard against a nearby tree, she saw her vision blaze with stars and felt her head ring with the resounding impact. Dazed, it was several seconds before she righted herself. But she recovered quickly and in a split second was following after the Hollow on her tracking unit-cleverly disguised as the same pendant that hung at the hollow of her throat. But this one attached easily to her wrist with a black band, making tracking much easier.

Tapping a few commands out on her system, she realized in horror it was headed for the hospital-the injured there would be unable to resist its malevolent force and would succumb to death. And then their souls would be devoured-if some hadn't been already...

The thought of her villages falling in both realms to the hands of the monstrosity spurred her onward, her feet fracturing the ground they impacted.

'Please...don't be too late...'

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

**_Chapter Nine: Evolution part 2_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach!_**

Sakura shot from the branched, launching herself side long into the mass of Hollows. Temporarily thrown by their sheer number when she had detected only one, she had only a millisecond to react to the first she encountered. It charged her from behind with a roar-the only indication that saved her. She threw her weight down, pushing against the air molecules with the reishi gathered in her feet. Rolling with the impact of the dive, she slid beneath another, hamstringing it as she rolled to her side. Pushing herself up on her forearms, she gained enough impetus to slip her feet beneath her. Extending her hand and driving the edge of her blade horizontally against the ground, she dragged her palm and zanpakuto across the hard, cold ground, using the friction to slow her slide.

There was no time to analyze the oddity in their numbers. So she did the only thing she could at that moment: Dropped her sword, raised her pointed index fingers, and cried out a spell. The resulting blast of blue light severed the Hollow to her immediate front in half, taking off the left arm of the one directly behind it before slamming into the Hokage's monument with a deafening crack. Again, she didn't have time to feel for the rock face. Spinning on her heels, she raised her flattened, extended palm and cried out another spell. From her open hand emanated dozens of red, crescent shaped blades. Using her left hand to steady her right, she spun in a full circle, decimating the nearest wave utterly.

Dancing left to avoid an aerial attack, she back-flipped away from another's claws. Spinning, she came up against the broad side of its limb, pirouetting against its chest and driving her blade through it deeply. It dissolved beneath the force of her attack and without losing her momentum she continued in a spinning hack through the next one.

In the flickering weave shinobi favored in their movements, she continued to dance her way through their ranks sporadically.

Panting heavily with the exertion after her day of training, she came to a brief stop to catch her bearings. Obviously, the hospital was still in danger. And she was alone to defend it...

"Captain Haruno!"

She turned on the voice, grateful to see Toshiro Hitsugaya sprinting towards her. His usual garb had been exchanged for a set of shinobi standard clothes: His torso was loosely wrapped in a black shirt that was overlaid with a standard issue vest in khaki. His pants were baggy and black, secured at the ankles with a roll of tape that pushed the excess cloth down into his sandals. He carried a single holster on his hip and one, smaller one on his thigh. Both, she presumed, filled with weaponry.

His cerulean eyes gleamed with anger, his hand drawing the short sword that had been strapped to his back. Lining up his target, he pulled back his arm and flung it forward.

For one hideous second, Sakura feared he had aimed for her. Instinctively, her eyes slammed shut. But a moment later the echo of reverberating metal filled her ears. Impulsively, she glanced over her should. And just in time to see a Hollow, his outstretched claws aimed at her neck, dematerialize.

"Sakura!"

This voice the kunoichi definitely knew: Yamanaka Ino. And what a sight for sore eyes that girl was.

Appearing from the trees in one grace-filled leap, she had brought her zanpakuto down in one clean slice that cleaved an eight-armed monstrosity in two. And then she lightly twirled into the fray, smiling at Sakura from the ring of fallen Hollows that resulted shortly after.

Ino had obviously been hard at work, her usual attire substituted for a kimono set in the typical black and white palette. But like Rangiku's, the top was deliberately loose and slung low across her hips ran a violet sash to which her sheath was attached. Her luxuriant blonde hair hung in its usual ponytail, her satisfied smirk dominating her facial features.

"Ino!"

Sakura returned her friend's smile...and watch her friend's features morph in terror, the turquoise eyes leveled directly behind her. She spun, time slowing for her as she glanced the creature, its claws now drawing blood from the surface of her stomach. She didn't even have time to feel fear, not the stupid, dumb, random shock of the whole ordeal.

"Release the Crimson Eclipse, the Flames Alight: Reflect the Inferno."

The soft voice rose up in her mind, almost a song over the din of battle. Her zanpakuto, ridiculously, mockingly close to her, suddenly flared up in a brilliant orange and scarlet orb. The wave of flames shot up between her and the Hollow, the hissing scream of combustion filling her ears.

Briefly, in the flames, she glimpsed the image of a winged creature. But, it was just as likely an optical illusion created by the flames...

"Hello, Sakura."

The Reaper gaped numbly at that beautiful creature standing in front of her: Skin of a color reminiscent of warm honey, ebony hair that fell to her waist in a dark cascade, eyes the color and quality of the flames now surrounding them, and the lithe body of a warrior. Her clothing was fiery---a dress that hugged her torso, the skirt falling to her ankles. The hem barely contained the spiraling edge of her flat, leather sandals, the thongs wrapping around her ankles. The dress's bust piece was crimson with intricate gold designs wrought in the silk and lacking sleeves. The skirt was reversed in orange with red designs. Across her forehead rested a gold diadem, a small ruby centered just above the center of her eyebrows. A pair of wings, feathered and wide and blazing in their red glory, spread from her back. Gripped in her slender hand rested a sword. It was unlike a katana, instead featuring a straight blade, the tip a triangle that was wider at the end that at the hilt. Inserted into the pommel was another ruby, much larger than the jewelry piece she bore.

"H...hel...lo...?' Sakura stammered back.

The creature before her smiled, patting her head in a gesture that, extended by anyone else, would have been infuriating---she wasn't a child! But here it seemed a gesture of camaraderie and even subservience on the other's part.

"What are you?" Sakura finally managed.

"The physical manifestation of your Bankai."

"I have a Bankai..."

"Only Reflection One. I am Reflection Two--Fire."

"What...is going on...?"

"Evolution."

And just as suddenly the gorgeous creature was gone again.

**TBC**


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter Ten: Evolution part 3**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach!**_

"Wait!" Sakura cried, reaching for the thin air before her…but she was gone.

"What was that?" Ino asked in a vague whisper.

"I don't know." Sakura replied.

* * *

By the time she got back to Sereitei , Sakura was too exhausted to do much aside from collapse in Uryu's arms.

"You need to rest more." He stated, drawing his arms across her abdomen and pulling her close.

She mumbled back, digging her fingers into the cloth of his shirt.

He smiled, looping his arms under her and cradling her against his chest. He planted a delicate kiss on her cheek as he carried her into her room, laying her down and stretching out beside her.

"She said it was 'Evolution'." The kunoichi whispered.

"Who?" He asked, looking over only to realize she had drifted off.

He sighed, smiling at the same time as he drew a blanket around himself and over her.

* * *

"More!" Sakura cried, levering Lee's blade away from her own and easily knocking him back with a weak kido.

But when he didn't rise, she knew he was spent for the day…hardly an easy task for the apprentice of Konoha's Green Beast. Smiling, she motioned for him to be taken to the infirmary to rest.

She still had more to do, anyway…like Sasuke and Naruto. Sighing, she turned on her heel and disappeared into the next field, where they were of course waiting.

"Sorry I'm late." She smiled, wiping sweat away from her eyes.

Sasuke huffed, Naruto loudly exclaiming it was alright; normally, she would have hit him, but today she was just too glad for some support.

"Let's get started." She said, focusing her reishi into a network around them.

They began to grid their reishi against her own, finely tuning it to match her frequency.

Sakura, deep in her own world of concentration, felt a slight jolt in her abdomen but ignored it. A moment later a larger tremor ran up her spine.

Growling in annoyance, she bit against her lip as she forced her reishi to stabilize.

Sasuke, his control reliant on Sakura's, had already noticed the spasms in her grid and glanced over at her. Her eyes, closed in focus, never met his…

For several minutes, Sakura thought she had her energy under control. Leeching a small portion from her own network, she checked her teammates' progress, pleased to find Naruto was actually improving quite quickly.

It was about that time that she felt something snap in her torso, her reishi collapsing back in on itself. The shock sent her stumbling…blindly, she grabbed for a target, using it to support her weight.

"Sakura!" Naruto cried, the first to reach her.

"What happened?" Sasuke demanded, looping his arm over Naruto's as they both pulled her up.

"I just lost my focus." She replied, running her hand across her abdomen as if feeling for a wound.

Uryu, who was supposed to be helping them that day, appeared on the field. He waved, a sudden look of horror replacing his courteous smile. His bow clattered against the ground…Sasuke didn't even see him move until he was beside the pink-haired reaper.

His hand ran lightly across her jaw, his free hand feeling for a fever.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"I'm fine." She replied with a weak smile.

Naruto and Uryu weren't even sure what happened the next moment, when she shoved them away from her…the sudden blast of reishi was so powerful they were slammed against the ground.

"Sakura!" They cried in unison, completely oblivious to the existence of the people beside them as their entire focus fell on her.

She didn't hear them, curled on the ground in pain as she was. Her world faded between black and red and she heard nothing but the shriek of the reishi draining from her.

That massive an outpouring was sure to attract attention…and as was fitting, the Queen of Flash-Step was the first on the scene. She demanded a briefing, after which she turned her amber eyes on Sakura.

She disappeared into the haze of color and energy, appearing beside Sakura. Her hand came across her forehead, two fingers pressed to her skin.

She absorbed the energy, filtering it off slowly as she siphoned it from the girl and a moment later, the air settled.

* * *

Sakura was confined to bed for the rest of the day while Yoruichi did some research on the sudden backlash of reishi that she had sustained despite her attempts to control it. Naturally, Naruto and Sasuke insisted on staying with her even though Uryu assured them he would take good care of her.

She didn't really know how many hours passed between them, most of them spent in quiet discussion while she drifted in and out of sleep.

It wasn't until late that night that Yoruichi came back to them with several heavy books in her arms.

"It would appear that I've found something." She said with her usual smile, "You all already know that some Bankai have multiple release forms."

"They do?" Naruto asked from the back.

"Yes." Sasuke sighed, clearly annoyed by the blonde's inability to keep track of things…even very obvious things…

"Well, sometimes in the case of multiple releases, multiple _energy_ releases like Sakura's, the flow between the different elemental signatures can be crossed, resulting in what happened today."

"Will it happen again?" Uryu asked.

"It such a rare occurrence, I can't guarantee anything." She replied.

Sakura sighed, rolling over onto her side so they wouldn't see the tears pouring down her face…she never imagined her energy control would actually be the thing to screw her over or that progress would be an infliction on her friends.

She was weak…like always, she thought as closed her eyes.

* * *

She snuck out at some point in the early morning, and crawled out onto the roof to be alone for a few minutes.

It was lovely outside: the stars still shining and a thin bar of light just beginning to hazily appear behind the horizon. The moon hung low in the sky to her left.

For a moment, she was struck by just how easy it would be run…to leave everything behind her and flee…

But running never solved anything and only made things worse…

She sighed, lying back against the tiles of the roof, enjoying the cool ceramic on her hot skin.

Vaguely, she wondered if she was strong enough to fulfill her duties…not just to her country and her home…not just to Sereitei and Konoha…but to herself: there was no denying she loved Uryu, but feelings for Sasuke and Naruto still lingered and she felt like she had betrayed Tsunade in making her choices…privately, she wanted to ask her mentor that…but she was afraid of the answer.

A hand ran through her hair, the silhouette of a woman falling over her as she knelt down beside her.

"Sakura." Tsunade said.

"Shishou…" Sakura trailed off.

"Are you alright?" She asked, moonlight pulsing off of her glossy lips.

"I don't know." Sakura replied.

"I heard." She stated simply.

"I'm so sorry." Sakura replied, tears spilling onto her cheeks.

"Don't be." Tsunade replied harshly, "You don't have anything to be sorry for."

Sakura knew this side of Tsunade…the side only she and Shizune saw when they were alone with her; the maternal side of the Kage…the gentle side that wasn't burdened by the demands of the Tsunade her village saw.

"Shishou…have I disappointed you?"

"Never." She replied.

"But I left…"

"You left. You didn't run like I did."

Tsunade averted her eyes, staring into the moon so like the one that shone down on her the night she lost her lover and the night she sat beside the grave of her brother; Sakura was stronger than she was. When she had taken on the pink-haired kunoichi, Tsunade feared the past would repeat itself in Sasuke and Naruto and Sakura…but they were stronger than she and Jiraiya and Orochimaru had been. They had rewritten their history and were painting their future…

"I've never been more proud." Tsunade added in a distant whisper.

Sakura smiled, throwing herself against Tsunade…her mentor, her mother.

* * *

Sakura watched the Kage step back into the gate, back to a village that needed her. And Sakura turned back to the city and society that needed her…just as she needed them.

Her fingers ran across the ceramic pendant against her throat, a gift from Uruhara. In a clean motion, her fingers wrapped around it and snapped it from the band beneath it. From within her robes, she withdrew the remains of her headband and pulled the metal plate away.

She wrapped the crimson cloth around her slender throat, attaching the pendant to it as she tucked the discarded plate and leather band from the two items back into her robe.

This would be the physical representation of her promise…a union between her two greatest loves and her two greatest responsibilities…

The sun rose above her, a streak of light falling against her pale skin, blinding her for just a moment…but the moon and the sun hung above her now…just like Konoha and Sereitei.

Her lips pulled up in a smile…

She would win because failure wasn't an option for her or her loved ones.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter Eleven: Evolution pt 4**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Naruto. **_

Sakura returned to the Soul Society with several former shinobi turned Reaper friends that still needed to complete their training. As for herself, she simply wanted to lie down for a little while and ponder exactly what had happened back on the battlefield.

The embodiment of her sword had told her this was evolution. What exactly that meant, she didn't know. But she had a feeling that maybe the ancient texts might have some information on it.

* * *

"Captain Haruno, your immediate assistance is requested in the Medical Bay."

Sakura groaned privately to herself, dismissing the young woman and turning back to the hospital. Whatever it was, it was likely important so she tried not to be cross with the attendants.

"What seems to be the problem?" She asked, massaging her temple.

"It's Ishida-san."

She gasped, pushing her way through the crowd around his bed and kneeling beside him.

"What happened?" She demanded, lifting the blood-stained bandages to get a glimpse at the wound.

"He was attacked by rouge Hollow following his most recent mission."

Sakura nodded, placing her hands on him and letting her energy flow in through him.

She absorbed herself in the healing process, moving to become quite literally a piece of his body, to breath in the same tempo and have her heart pound to the same beat…

It wasn't until she was found herself floating in an orb of blue that she realized exactly what had happened…or at least began to fathom it.

"He's handsome."

The pink-haired captain turned on the sudden voice, confronting a woman who, well…wasn't really all woman: her lower body was a massive, streamline fish tail…a mermaid; and undeniably beautiful. Her long blue hair danced in the water around them, her cerulean eyes (shimmering in the oddest way, like light dancing off of the waves in the sea) inspected Sakura good-naturedly. Twined into her sea-colored locks were multiple shells and purples and her shapely breasts were covered in a layer of iridescent green and blue scales.

"What?!" Sakura cried, unable to think up any more appropriate response.

"Alright, backing off." She giggled.

"Not what I meant…." Sakura trailed off.

"Oh!" She acted surprised, as if remembering something she had forgotten, "That!"

"Yes!" Sakura cried in exasperation, wondering for the first time how she was breathing in the orb of floating water.

"Well, you see, you were getting desperate back there," The woman motioned vaguely to the unconscious Uryu, "So I decided it was time to come out and…play."

"What…"

"Oh, yeah…well, you see, we kind of have to drain off some energy from you…and kind of unexpectedly so…yeah!" She smiled so brightly Sakura found herself walking the line between irritation and laughter.

"What about Uryu!" Sakura demanded.

"He's fine." She assured him with an off-handed motion of her wrist and slender fingers.

"Then…what are you doing here?"

"I like to play." She said with a wink and a flirtatious swish of her tail.

"I don't…uh….lean that way." Sakura replied.

"Oh, such a shame." She said it with a knowing smile, so Sakura was reasonably sure she was being screwed with again.

"Uh…well, can I ask you a few questions?"

"Go for it!" The female responded brightly.

"Who or what are you guys?"

"You mean us girls? Well, we're the goddesses of your zanpakuto." She replied.

"In English?"

"We control the elemental abilities of your zanpakuto."

"I see. You're obviously water."

"I never said that's _all_ we do." She replied with another wink.

Sakura glared at her, waiting for more information.

"Well, our fiery friend, AKA Miss Sleepyhead," (Sakura translated that to mean the fire goddess), "controls your increased stamina and reishi reserves. _I_, however, control your better healing abilities."

"How many of you are there?"

"Now, now, if I told you _that_, what fun would _that_ be?" Her slender finger gently bopped Sakura's nose and she was gone, the water around her fading again.

She found herself in Uryu's arms a moment later.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"I could ask you the same thing." She replied impishly as she brought her lips to his.

* * *

Yoruichi stood before the Oracle again, the lovely woman's sightless blue eyes boring into her own somehow.

She had long since begun the ritual of circling the opposite female, tossing her dark hair with each motion of her slender shoulders. Her feet moved in perfect lines, the angles exact as she drew a very precise seal around the woman in reishi.

"What do you desire now, Goddess?" The Seer asked with a faint smirk.

"Answers."

"Even I, the Alpha and the Omega, need more than that."

Yoruichi smirked with a faint snort, "You have a high opinion of yourself."

"Rightfully so."

"Then, tell me, what do you seem incapable of straight answers?"

"Time is like a never ending river, the current changes frequently and without the slightest provocation. The world is in turmoil now, and the waters become hazy."

"So, you can only answer on a moment by moment, case to case basis?"

"Precisely."

"Then answer this: What is her fate?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because you once said she would touch us all…"

"But I could not foresee the consequences."

"So tell me now."

"In this moment, it will end in disaster. However, before you are so quick to act, _Goddess_ of Flash Step, a moment ago, her existence would have saved all of you. And even now, I see those visions changing again."

Yoruichi left with a decisive snort, her lips pulled up in a feline sneer. A moment she was beside the Oracle and the next, she was miles away.

She took a seat, folding her arms under her chest and pondering the mysteries of Sakura and her home: she had saved them before, but might doom them in the future. Or she might save them all, again. But was she really willing to take that chance on a girl who suddenly came, left, and came again?

She didn't know.

* * *

Tsunade scanned Kakashi, her lips pulled up in a vague smirk that could be read as any number of emotions.

"Kakashi, you know what I'm going to say."

He nodded, his visible eye flashing with an emotion even she couldn't read.

"They're far from helpless children."

"I understand that."

"So, what gives?" She asked.

"You…wouldn't understand."

"At least give me the chance." She replied.

"I want to fight beside them."

The honesty in the statement was touching, to say the least, but Kakashi was far from his prime and his students were just entering theirs. And his stability had been far from ideal lately, with all of the negotiations, his new training, his need to be two different warriors in two different worlds.

"If you think this will prove something to her…"

"It's not the way to forgiveness, I understand." He interrupted.

"She doesn't think there's anything to forgive."

Kakashi nodded, his stance and his intentions unrelenting.

"Just come home in one piece." Tsunade sighed with a wave of her hand.

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter Twelve: Focus Shift**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Naruto. **_

It all happened so fast, there was no way for the Hollow, or the Whole, to really understand what had just occurred: one moment, the Hollow was hot on the trail of the scared Whole, who was desperately trying to get away. The next, there was nothing but brilliant blue light and a sudden release for the Whole and oblivion for the Hollow.

As the debris and light finally cleared, Kakashi 'tsked' lightly to himself in disapproval. He was slowing down, it would seem…a poor time to be feeling his age.

* * *

Sasuke gently filtered his reishi back into the katana in his hands, trying to coax, rather than force, it into its true, if not ultimate, form. But it was frustrating not to know which 'chakra' to use: Lightning or Fire. At the moment, he was simply layering them on, one right after another. His previous attempts at using one or the other at failed, so he reasoned this was the only other alternative.

Realizing he was getting distracted, he centered his mind and body again and continued to layer the energies.

Fire, lightning, fire, lightning, fire, lightning…slowly, carefully….

He felt suddenly a portion of both drain off that he hadn't focused and his eyes opened. Through the parted lids he inspected the blade in his hands: light, fast, and…surprising. He smirked as he eyed the apparent 'hidden mechanism'.

This was going to be…interesting.

* * *

"Stupid sword!" Naruto cried, throwing it against the ground only to have the hilt rebound and smack him squarely in the forehead.

With a cry of anger and frustration (likely some embarrassment as well), he kicked the blade away and proceeded to stomp several times on it.

"I will not lose to you!" He shouted.

"That would be quite a feat," Toshiro remarked as he walked by, "Considering its part of you."

"Shut up!" Naruto shouted back, earning a caustic chuckle from the young genius as he continued on his way.

* * *

Lee flicked his wrist, trying to manage the dual chains and blades in a single motion, but it was proving more difficult than it would have appeared. The center shackle was hard to handle without losing the balance in the other two, and having the blades go awry. Even more difficult was putting his reishi into it; it would appear the congenital defect that prevented him from using gen- and ninjutsu was making reishi manipulation difficult---though not impossible.

With a cry, he corrected his own balance, flipped the chain around, and brought the blade in a semicircle around his torso before pulling it back into a straight line as he attempted to manipulate the left blade in a reverse motion of the first.

It ended with him flipping over his own blade and catching the chain with his foot. But for a brief second, he had had the balance.

* * *

Ino inhaled deeply, releasing her reishi with the same exhalation to force her blade into a set of small circular blades.

'Perfect.' She thought as she manipulated them into one spiraling hoop and then in three separate directions. They danced around her for a moment, flitting in complex designs and then seemingly random patterns.

A moment later, they condensed back to a single blade.

* * *

Naruto picked the blade back up and simply flooded it with his energy, not bothering to direct it or regulate it in any way.

And it worked…

The blade melted down into an orb of all things; it was deep blue, with a spiraling energy within it. It was large, barely fitting into his hand.

"Great! What am I supposed to do with this thing?" He cried, throwing his hand forward. By chance, it struck a tree…

And in a flash of white, the tree splintered into literally millions of pieces.

"Oh…..!" He trailed off.

* * *

Uryu pulled back the bow, feeling it flex beneath his hands despite its being comprised entirely of energy. The weight was good, the balance even better.

He eyed the resultant bolt, studying it while running through potential options he might have for improving its speed, damage capabilities, stealth potential, and accuracy. He could barb the tip, but that would eat up reishi and throw the potential balance. But the damage to an opponent would be phenomenal. If he thinned the bolt, the stealth and accuracy would be greatly improved, but the resultant damage would be minimal at best.

He could try lightening the frame of the bow, and bulking the bolts---the reishi output would be the same, just in different proportions to different areas. But he couldn't guarantee his balance if he did that.

"Hmm…" He sighed as he lowered the bow.

* * *

Yoruichi tested the weight of the kunai in her hand, tossing it several times to get a feel for the overall balance. It was a bit bulkier than she would have liked, but it was far from unwieldy. She could work with this…

With a flick of her wrist, an inhumanely fast motion, she had embedded the dagger in the bull's eye on the target. The audible 'thump' reached her ears a moment later.

She smirked as she lifted a shuriken, gently fingering the edges. Lethal, razor sharp, she concluded with satisfaction. Threading her finger through the center break she gave it an experimental twirl.

Deciding the child's play was over with, she pulled several of each from the holsters tied, traditionally if what Ino told her was correct, to her thighs and hip. She flipped the first three kunai into the air, flicking matching shuriken at them. They rebounded, and she tossed the remaining weapons, hearing the grate of metal against metal. Silver flashed around her, rebounding weapons dancing in the air.

When it all settled, all but two had found their way onto a bull's eye.

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

_**Chapter Thirteen: Earth and Envy**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Naruto. **_

Uryu pressed a strawberry into Sakura's mouth, enjoying the seductive purr the escaped her lips a moment later.

"You're too good at this." She smirked.

"I don't think that's possible." He teased back.

"Really?" She replied as she leaned against his chest and pressed her lips against his.

His hands ran down the curve of her hip, pulling her closer as he did. But just as suddenly, Sakura found herself floundering under the sensation of _nothing_. He just…vanished beneath her.

Her head shot up, and she realized exactly what had happened…she had just been too busy to feel the drain on her reishi.

"You just _had_ to do something _now_." Sakura stated dryly.

"I don't choose the time and place." The goddess in front of her replied regally.

"Of _course_ not." Sakura snorted.

But even through her annoyance she had to admit she was beautiful; like a dryad, really: She had lovely skin that was so white it wasn't even really ivory anymore, blonde hair that spiraled in curls around her face and shoulders, and shocking green eyes that had the quality a leaf would with the sun shining through it. She wore a green tunic-like gown adorned with lilies and orchids…surprisingly flattering, actually.

"I'm assuming you're the Earth Reflection here to tell me something…" Sakura finally sighed.

"I bring information that might well serve you." She said.

Sakura already knew plain English wasn't an option…so she just waited.

"I was awakened by the coupling of your love and yourself…"

Sakura blushed; she made it sound a lot worse that in actually was.

"I am the embodiment of the Earth around you, and bring the gift of wisdom and intelligence in battle."

Translation: I'm the Earth Goddess, I control increased battle prowess; Sakura nodded, that was a reasonable…paraphrase.

"I'm I allowed a few questions?" She asked.

"Certainly." The Elf-like being replied.

"Great! How many more of you are there?"

"I apologize, Mistress, however to answer that question would damper your journey."

"Journey?"

"Initiating one's zanpakuto is not a matter of force, but of personal accomplishment…it's a communication between two spirits."

"I see…" Sakura sighed.

"I am sorry, Mistress, but my time is short. We may speak later, if you wish."

"I think I'd like that." Sakura smiled.

The backdrop melted away, revealing Uryu's slightly worried face.

"What happened?" She asked.

"You just…zoned out for a moment." He replied.

She just smiled, "Well…where were we?"

* * *

'Amaterasu…'

'Yes, M'Lady?' The sun goddess replied.

'These Reflections…' Sakura hesitated, 'Are they part of you?'

'No, they are all separate entities.'

'Even from me?'

'More so with respect to you than me.'

'I see.' Sakura turned over, bid her zanpakuto good-night, and slid beneath the sheets.

* * *

"You made a wise decision, Hatake-san."

"I believe so." Kakashi replied.

"You know this will harm her." It wasn't a question.

Kakashi just stared straight ahead before replying, "Good."

Aizen smirked, chuckling before he threw his head back and laughed.

* * *

"Oh, yes, believe it!" Naruto cried as he displayed his shikai to Ino.

The blonde, however, was much less impressed than he was. "Uh…Naruto…isn't that a lot like Rasengan?"

"That's what makes it so awesome!" He replied.

"I see…" She remarked dryly.

"Oh, let him have his fun, Ino."

Her turquoise eyes turned over her shoulder and she smiled as the pink-haired captain walked up to her.

"Alright, Forehead."

"Thank you, Pig." Sakura smiled back.

Ino moved to make another playful remark when a siren suddenly exploded in color and noise.

"That's the alarm for Japan." Ino remarked.

"Then let's go kick some bad-guy butt!" Naruto cried, scampering towards the gate.

"Enthusiastic, isn't he?" Ino remarked dryly.

"Try working with him." Sakura replied as they followed after him.

* * *

Kakashi stood in the rubble, his hand still flickering blue with the chakra lodged there.

He felt them long before he heard Sakura's trusting cry and the slap of her feet against the ground as she ran up to him.

"Sensei, are you alright? What happened here?"

He leveled his gaze with her, waiting for her to turn to him…her face betraying her confusion, and back-handed her hard enough to send her flying.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto cried, his eyes blazing as Sakura picked herself up, wiping blood away with the back of her hand.

"Haruka! Let dance the silver blade!"

Ino's blade dissolved into three rings that hovered around her outstretched hand before streaking towards Kakashi. For a split second, she thought she had him…

And then the blades were embedded in the ground at her feet.

'Reversal kido…' the blonde realized instantly, but too late to stop Naruto from charging the jonin.

And just as quickly, Naruto found himself pinned against the nearest wall by several spikes of yellow light.

"Sensei!" Sakura cried, her hand on the hilt of the sword hanging from her hip, her head turned down, "Stand down and I won't hurt you."

"You're not that strong." He replied, 'Not yet…'

"I'll still try." She warned him.

'I know you will…' He thought.

Sakura's head rose, words rolling silently off of her lips…he knew what she was saying: Reflection One: Fire. Rage Against.

But before she could finish the release, he had her pinned, his hand against her throat. He applied just enough pressure to be threatening, but not enough to harm her.

"Stop." He stated simply.

"You will not harm her!"

Kakashi tilted his head up as a blade attached to a chain was slung forward, evading it easily. Sakura saw her chance and lifted her hips, rotating her leg over his head and shoving him away as she rolled to her feet.

"Thanks, Lee!" She yelled as she finished the release incantation.

But by then, Kakashi's back up had swarmed the street…Hollows…

"Why?" Lee demanded angrily, chakra pulsing off of him.

Kakashi just shrugged as the black and white creatures poured over him, blocking him from their view.

Lee reacted first, snapping his blade at the creatures. It sank easily through the first three, tearing them apart as Ino spun into the fray, her blades dancing around her.

Sakura smiled, watching them with a fondness she imagined her teachers had had for their students as she ran her hand along her katana, "Reflection One: Fire. Rage Against!"

The blade came alive, red flames swimming beneath the metal as it morphed into a bow. For a moment, she wondered if her love for Uryu hadn't played into that, but there was little time to contemplate that as she lifted the weapon and pulled the string back, a fiery bolt forming.

The recoil was enough to send her sprawling, but the results were impressive: the bolt seemed to expand, tearing far beyond its original path.

The entire battle was no more than five minutes, but that was more than enough time for Kakashi to escape.

"How could he?!" Naruto raged.

"I don't know…" Sakura said, "But I intend to find out."

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter Fourteen: Full Circle: Revolution**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Naruto!**_

_**A/N: Sorry it took so long guys! But I'm back and ready to roll! I hope you'll like my revamp! **_

Sakura stepped into Seretei, letting the sweet smell of fresh grass wash over her nose. It was good to be back in their world…it was so much purer than the physical world. There was very little to hide in their dimension. What you _had_ been didn't matter anymore…

"Good to have you back." Ichigo's voice cut her train of thought and she turned to greet him.

"Good to see you." She replied, "How are things?"

"Too friggin' quiet." He sighed, scratching the back of his head in annoyance.

"I'm happy to switch with you." She smiled jokingly, "I've had enough excitement to last me a lifetime!"

"Really now?" He asked, intrigued.

"I'll spill all of the gory details when I have the chance." She replied, waving in a silent good bye as she drifted to the left and into one of the buildings.

"Check you later, then." He smirked, disappearing around a bend.

Sakura released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding…it was getting harder to trust people at her back; with Kakashi having already betrayed them, it seemed that anyone was just as likely to turn…but she was also acutely aware that if she didn't learn who she could turn to, she was going to be in trouble.

She stopped in her tracks, running her hand through her hair and realizing, with sudden annoyance, how long it was…Her gaze dropped over her shoulder and to the ends of the pink locks.

Shrugging, she decided it was time to make a few changes.

* * *

'I made a promise…a long time ago. But I intend to keep it.' She thought to herself as she lifted a dagger.

She pushed her ponytail up with her left hand, sliding the kunai beneath the curtain of pale pink. She let it drop back a moment later, securing the base with her hand. She glanced once in the mirror, reminding herself of that time such a distant place away from her…so long ago…And then she jerked the blade up.

Her severed hair fell to her feet, the band sliding to the floor as the remainder fell around her chin. She shook her head once to free the remaining odd bits and ends. She looked in the mirror with some apprehension, unsure if the style she had worn so many years before would dampen the maturity of her face.

But it didn't…with her bangs still swept to the left, she looked better. More functional…And she _felt_ better; it was freeing not to have that weight on her shoulders.

"Hmm…I like it." She finally smiled, shrugging nonchalantly as she turned away from the silky tangle of hair spread across the floor and vanity.

She wasn't expecting the room to suddenly waver in front of her, but she was hardly surprised by it; after all…her zanpakuto was still reaching out to her…

"So, you're learning."

Sakura glanced in the direction of the voice, coming face to face with a tall, slender woman. Her hair was silvery, set in waves around a pale face. Her eyes, a color that graduated from pale pink to deep red, shimmered in the way a heat did. Her lithe body was clothed in a white linen folded around one shoulder. It flared around her legs, veiling bare feet.

"Little by little." Sakura replied with a wry smile.

The woman nodded with a faint smile, "That is perhaps the best method."

"So…what now?" The kunoichi-turned-Reaper asked.

"You've come full circle." The wind goddess replied, "There isn't much to say or do now except wait."

"For?"

"For whatever comes next."

"You don't know?" Sakura asked, confused; they always seemed to have something to offer her in terms of information.

"I know what comes after."

"After…?"

"After the battle." The silver-haired female replied.

"And that is?"

"Revolution."

"Revolution?" Sakura repeated, wondering what she meant…Unless, she meant to say their defeat was inevitable… "Are you saying…?"

"The future is not set in stone, Mistress." She replied. "No one person can decide it."

"Then what did you mean when you said 'Revolution'?"

"Your personal evolution was only the beginning. You've woken the elements you'll need to achieve kyuukyokukai."

"Ultimate release? But…that's what Bankai is." Sakura protested.

"What it was." The spirit replied in gentle correction. "Evolution began with you. You were the first to begin the process. But you will not be the last."

"Who else?" Sakura asked.

"There is not one among you who cannot unlock the secrets of the elements."

"Fire, water, earth and air…" Sakura trailed off.

"By your standards, yes. But elements exist in countless forms." The woman extended her slender hand, unfurling her fingers to reveal a small, glowing gem. "Such as crystal."

"All of us…" The sheer implication of the statement was a joyful, if not slightly overwhelming one: With that much limitless potential on their hands, the forces of Seretei could finally take back the world…rid it completely of Hollows…

But as if sensing this, the female embodiment of wind spoke, "But you are not the only ones on the brink of metamorphosis."

Realization dawned on Sakura instantly: In the evolutionary arms race of the Reapers against the Hollows, any given side would only achieve a momentary upper hand before the other evolved to match the other.

"The Breakdown Sphere…that's what it is!" The pink-haired female cried out.

The woman in front of her nodded with a smile. "The driving force in their advancement."

"We need to stop them..."

"You cannot stop the natural processes of this world, or the next."

"Are you saying we're doomed to do this forever?"

"Doomed? No. You never have been and never will be damned in and of your existence alone. These are the cycles that drive the reality of your worlds. There will forever be good and evil."

"Why?" Sakura demanded, suddenly angry.

"Without the one to contrast the either, you would lose all definition."

"I don't understand!" Sakura snapped.

The woman bent forward, bringing her gaze to rest on Sakura's with infinite patience, "Let me elaborate, Mistress: Would you know you were happy had you never been sad?"

The kunoichi's eyes widened perceptibly as realization settled in. The spirit nodded with a faint but knowing smile as she rose.

"My time grows short," She began, "But I am never far from you."

Sakura bobbed her head in quiet understanding as the silvery orb that had become their shared world for a short time died away.

* * *

Sasuke stared down the man in front of him, acutely aware that he wasn't a person and that he wasn't the living spirit of his zanpakuto…or, at least, the one he was familiar with.

"Who are you?" He demanded coolly.

"You will find out in due time." The dark man replied.

"I'm not a good waiter." Sasuke responded.

"Then you had better hurry up." The man smirked.

"Based on your answer, I have to assume you're part of this whole mess."

"I wouldn't go so far as to say this is a mess. Not yet, anyway."

"Let's cut to the chase."

"Very well."

"You didn't deny you were part of this." Sasuke began.

"But that's not an entirely accurate statement." The man shot back, his ebony eyes flashing.

"Part of me, then."

"Closer." He admitted.

The Uchiha smirked knowingly as he pulled his zanpakuto from its sheath at his hip and held it up. "Part of this, then."

"You're a sharp one." The man smiled.

"Which element?"

"I can't _tell_ you. You have to _experience_ it."

"Then don't go far. Because if I have to train until I drop to release you, I will."

"That's the spirit."

* * *

Sakura sat in a ring of heavy books, all of them torn open to different pages as she frantically scanned them for information: If the Breakdown Sphere drove the evolution of Aizen and the army of Hollows at his disposal, there had to be a polar opposite to it.

Of course, though, things weren't that easy; no one was purely good or purely evil. Just because he had found a way to implement a device didn't mean that it was of itself evil. Similarly, even if she found documentation of the theoretical converse, there was no guarantee they would be able to find it or implement it with the effectiveness he had.

She was so focused on the task at hand that she didn't even hear the gentle footfall behind her or see the yellow spattering of light the lamp in that person's hand threw off. It wasn't until his hand fell on her shoulder that she was aware of him at all.

She jumped, spinning as best she could from on her knees to face him. But in the same second she loosed a shaky breath and gave a small smile. "Uryu…what are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you." He replied, kneeling beside her and picking up a book. He glanced at it before adding, "This is hardly light reading; and particularly for the hour."

"No rest for the wicked." Sakura replied, "No rest for us."

He gave a wry smile of agreement before asking, "What _are _you doing here so late?"

"I think I'm on to something. That's all." She said, trying to downplay the true severity of what she might, or might not, find.

"If it were so simple, you wouldn't be here at all."

"You always could read me like a book." She sighed not unpleasantly, "I think we can beat Aizen…with the right tool, of course."

"And that would be?" He asked, intrigued.

That was just it, Sakura thought; she wasn't even sure what she was looking for. Her entire premise was based on a hypothesis formed from the spirit of her sword. And even in a world dominated by the supernatural that was shaky ground at best…

"I'm not really sure." She finally said, "I just have a feeling."

"Intuition has yet to fail you." He observed, laying the book back down, "I see no reason to doubt it now."

"Thanks, Uryu." She replied, "I needed that."

He smiled, "Then it was my pleasure to provide it. Would you care for some company for your late-night endeavor?"

"Take a seat." She said, turning her attention back to a scroll spread in front of her.

TBC


End file.
